Category Archives: Practice

Portfolios: Pedagogical documentation or souvenir?

KAREN HOPE shares some key discussion points after facilitating a group of educators, who were delving into re-thinking ways to document learning and development for educators and children. Karen asked the group ‘what current documentation practices might they leave behind?’—This opened up ideas to what changes could be implemented to create documentation to improve ideas, […]

Not waving, drowning

Drowning is almost always a deceptively quiet event. The waving, splashing, and yelling that dramatic conditioning (television and cinema) prepares us to look for, is rarely seen in real life. This blog explains why those nearby often miss vital signs that a child or adult is drowning within reach. Read on for more information on Royal […]

Themes vs projects: Spot the difference

In this blog, KATE HODGEKISS weighs the benefits of project over thematic approaches to young children’s learning and the interplay between children’s interests and the educator’s intentional thinking and scaffolding. In early childhood, our trends of pedagogical practices change and evolve as we continue building research into child development and learning processes. In past years […]

Sleep habits start early

Child sleep in the early years is one of the leading reasons families reach out to health practitioners. Sleep is also a hot topic between families and early childhood educators. In this blog PROFESSOR HARRIET HISCOCK from Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) writes about the two most commonly encountered problems: night waking and settling. Why […]

Climate Matters: never too young to learn about sustainability

Sustainability, climate change and inter-generational equity have long-term impacts for all children globally argues DR SUE ELLIOT. Young children’s natural interest in how the world works and their capacity to integrate sustainability practices into their daily experience means it’s never too early to involve them in working towards a sustainable future. This is how …  […]

Name a job where you can act like a child?

This question was asked recently during a weekend primetime TV family quiz show. Among the top three answers? Clown, childcare worker and kindergarten teacher. It made DR CAROLINE COHRSSEN reflect on play in early childhood learning and a ‘game’ approach to preschool mathematics by the Northern Territory Government. Find out more about her work and […]

Children’s agency, images and consent

We consent to and ask permission about many things every day, writes DEANNE CARSON, yet consent remains controversial. In this blog Carson explores what an understanding of each other’s rights, and of consent, can bring to daily interactions with young children. Carson attracted worldwide attention earlier this year when interviewed about young children’s capacity to […]

Reflective Practice: Making a commitment to ongoing learning

Whether reflective practice takes place ‘in the moment’ or ‘later’, with a colleague or alone, in this all-time favourite blog, Dr Anne Kennedy draws attention to the crucial role of ongoing learning, providing examples, strategies and tools for educators.  Often when discussing the national Early Years Learning Framework Principle on reflective practice, we overlook the initial […]

Assessing children’s understanding during play-based maths activities

When we ask children to explain their thinking to us we gain an insight into what they already know, says CAROLINE COHRSSEN. She encourages us to reach beyond what we’re comfortable doing in our work with young children in her blog (originally posted in 2015). Cohrssen translates Early Years Learning Framework concepts on mathematical language and symbols into practical steps and conversation starters that foster young children’s deep thinking.  Engaging […]

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